- In the last few days, the Delhi Gymkhana Club has been hogging the news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Indian citizens, unaware of the prestigious club’s functioning, are slowly waking up to the way this exclusive club has continued to sustain itself largely through anachronistic practices. For the uninitiated, a gymkhana is primarily a social and sports club, a concept that originated during the British Raj in India. It is also a multipurpose club and meeting place featuring competitive, skill-based events. Most importantly, the privileged club’s membership is open to very few civil servants of the top echelon but is unavailable to ordinary citizens aspiring to become members of the premium club. Why is it in the news, though? Let’s dwelve further to comprehend.
PC : ThePrint
- Mind you, elite clubs like Delhi Gymkhana serve a networking purpose. But not when what it means to be elite doesn’t change with the fast-changing times. Note that there are a dozen Raj-era exclusive clubs in India. That, by itself, isn’t a problem. It is human nature to draw lines. Home, neighbourhood, and nation are all lines with different degrees of exclusion. So, Delhi Gymkhana Club’s picky and pricey policies should ordinarily not be held against it. What makes them problematic, though, is the fact that the club has been perpetuating private privilege while standing on state largesse. When the British leased the Club with 27 acres, they did so not only to create space for their officers’ recreation, but also to enable networking. Why so?
PC : ThePrint
- Simply because networking often is the key to getting work done. So, it’s surprising that, over all these years, when India has changed, and so has the composition of its elite, the structure of Gymkhana’s membership hasn’t. It’s still 80% civil servants and defence officials – the iron frame of a colonial power. Where are the captains of industry, and young founders of startups, the new culture vultures, or ordinary citizens who need valuable space to connect informally with officials? They aren’t there because, for far too long, Gymkhana has been run as a family fiefdom. Membership is tightly controlled and mostly passed down through generations. The club says membership is not a matter of inheritance. But that’s just hiding behind words.
PC : Tollygunge Club
- Everyone and their uncle, even if they are the kind of Gymkhana members who never meet, or if they do, dearly wish they hadn’t, know what preferential treatment means. This wouldn’t have mattered if Gymkhana, like Kolkata’s Tolly Club, stood on private land – private space, private rules. Nobody would have grudged its 14,000-odd members, and their progeny, their leisurely evenings. But since that’s not the case, Gymkhana should change. World over, networking is a fact of life. That quiet word, put in someone’s ears, while waiting for lunch to be served – this kind of thing greases many wheels. High-value networking by high-powered people. An elite club in the heart of Delhi has its usefulness. But only when the elite are not just officials and their progenies.
